I use Dairy Doo Compost in bulk. I am in Glen Arbor Michigan. I had good luck with my Garden this year, however the weather was weird so it was not the best year ever. đ
I need my chicken poop boots to dig my compost to move it. Messy. I amend ahead of time so get a full year of quail poop to break down and it's mushy not powdery at all. A little a bit of everything in it and quail poop. Quail need little space and do triple duty. I swear they make more poop than they eat. Use chopped straw to catch it and easier to dump. A bale lasts a long time. If soil is too acidic for some things I can add some ash from my wood stove . My hydrangeas are purple so it's a little acidic so use some wood ash depending what's going in that spot the next year. Works pretty good and no more invasive weeds being introduced buying it now that I got with the initial compost by the truckload with horse manure from hobby farms. Weeds gone to seed get burned not composted. I clean up dead perennials for the year and toss that in the compost along with veggie scraps. Now I still have morning glories still multiplying even pulled early and other stuff I never had. Little grass around my gardens now.
I had two compost failures this year. Like you I brought in a truck load of finished compost… but it wasn't finished, it was still active, and it basically sucked the life out of everything. I amended as much as I could, and I got some good squash and a few melons, but basically a total waste. Should be good next year maybe. The second failure was my own homemade bin.I have no certain idea what, but something caused chemical poisoning. I don't use poison on the lawn, but the neighbors do. I'm thinking either the fall tree leaves, spent beer grains (but they were organic), or possibly rabbit poo if the timothy grass was treated. I ruled out the bunny honey by experiment. Fairly sure it was the tree leaves. It wrecked my potatoes. Can't even compost my own backyard materials in this world it seems. As a former chemist, I hate yard chemicals.
Your analogies were perfect! Thanks, I need all the help I can get. My compost wood bins are going in this weekend and I've been buying organic wood chip compost. Yikes!! Glad I watched and I'm moving forward with my own now that I have the wood structures.
I have two horses who produce 50 lbs. of manure a day. This is mixed with uneaten hay and sawdust bedding. Thereâs really not that much sawdust compared to hay and manure. However, hubby didnât do a good job of mixing it so I ended up with too much sawdust for the cukes, which didnât grow. And my garlic failed. My tomatoes did okay but not great since there wasnât new compost for this year. Hubby needs to do a better job of mixing and delivering to me. :/
Looks like all the a lot of nutrients have been washed into the soil where the compost was originally created. Iâm a big believer in composting in the garden soil from the start. I know that would be difficult on the scale that youâre farming though. Always look forward to your videos.
You should lease land to someone that has cows. Have them live in different fields moving the herd every couple months. Between their feed and their waste you would have some amazing soil.
These same issues went through my head earlier this year regarding my newly acquired worm bin. I started to think about what they were eating and the quality of the castings that they would produce. I began trying to diversify their food more, and this strategy translates into my outdoor compost bin the same way – I try to feed it only good stuff and with plenty of variety.
I grew giant pumpkins in some crappy municipal compost this year, i just doubled my normal watering. However i did have a couple bean plants misteriously die, pretty sure there was some weed killer in it.
Same thing happened to me when I bought compost 5 years ago to fill 6 raised beds {exactly the same as beds at your house, I made them from your building beds video}. A dump truck full of compost that I bought was exactly as you described in todays video. When filling my beds I had to amend so called 'compost' with peat moss, cow manure, azymite and lime a wheelbarrow at a time, very tedious. It was so much more work in the beginning then anticipated because of the poor quality of the compost I purchased. It's hard to find trustworthy reliable compost here in the suburbs of NJ. I'm unable to make as much compost as I need here on my small plot of land.
My challenge when I had left over piles of delivered compost and soil, I had to tarp it because the neighbors cat began to use it. This year, I used both compost and soil but found water was not being absorbed. It is known as hydrophobic soil. I had already used it in my raised beds, and it took quite a few deep waterings for soil to evenly disperse and hold water. This coming next season I want to recondtion both piles to replenish healthy bacteria, etc. If you have suggestions what to do, I would love to hear your thoughts.
My Compost is either from the city, which is mainly from grass clippings or it is from timberline brand. I really felt like it just turned to sand. However, Iâm trying to mulch now and see if that helps.
Thank you ! This seems to be the year of struggle âŠ.all the spray everyday for â. Cloud seedingâ doesnât help . All cucuburits are struggling despite our compost effort . Way to go for keeping it positive
I had a soil test and in addition to amending the soil, I add the same amendments to the compost. I like the result.
On wood chips, ramial wood chips are qualitatively different than âregularâ wood chips, the challenge is finding a source. Karl Hammer of Vermont compost also discussed using hardwood bark residue in his products. He had a line that was something like âbark is the armour a tree wearsâ and you kind of want it in your compost. The interview is in an old Farmer to Farmer episode if you want to nerd out on compost and growing a business.
Definitely know WHERE your compost is coming from. Watch out for that "free" compost you get from the dump from all of our green waste that is collected at the curb. It's fine for lawns and flower beds. But NOT for vegetable gardens. Green waste compost has pathogens and contaminates in it including medical waste, dog waste, chemicals, pesticides, herbicides and all kinds of stuff that you don't want your food growing in. Also ASK at your local landscape materials company where they get their compost. Many local companies actually get their compost from city green waste. The same stuff you can get for free at the dump.
Compost seems like it should be expensive. I put all my produce scraps and much of my garden waste into composters and get nowhere near enough for my 20×60 garden. I also shred all my leaves in fall and mix with grass clippings in spring. It makes a lot more than food scraps but still not enough.
You are better off getting a leaf shredder and make shredded leaves which turns into leaf mold, make a worm farm and turn kitchen scraps into worm castings, burn a bunch of wood waste or bones and turn it into charcoal then charge it to turn it into biochar. You can also use the ash generated during burning. Nutrients people! A wide variety of nutrients matters. Hydrophobic dust is not compost!
You can get your compost professional tested. I've done it many times. Also, your compost has too much carbon & not enough nitrogen sources & it is also TOO dry. What your composts needs is for you to add humates to it. The difference between compost & humus is that humus is a further decomposed state of compost. Add some humates & keep it moist. Your compost looks WAY too try. I'd add humates & mulch. That should help a lot.
Also, you need to make sure there aren't any long lasting herbicides (e.g. clopyralid, aminopyralid, aminocyclopyrachlor, & picloram) contaminates that compost and can kill sensitive garden plants, such as beans, peas, tomatoes, and sunflowers. These persistent herbicides remain active in the soil for months to years, even after the original plant material has composted.
i got some similar dry black compost. i.ve only used it as a mulch and it seems to keep the moisture down in the soil and prevent seed germination. which has produced good potato and sweet corn harvest with no watering or weeding, needed. digging the spuds has mixed it in with the soil, but the following field pea and grazing rye is doing well , needing lots o water at first as we've had no rain through the life of the crops. hoping this growing green will provide the nitrogen needed for next plantings
39 Comments
đ đ đ đ omg just say it was broken down wood chips instead of compost.
I use Dairy Doo Compost in bulk. I am in Glen Arbor Michigan. I had good luck with my Garden this year, however the weather was weird so it was not the best year ever. đ
I need my chicken poop boots to dig my compost to move it. Messy. I amend ahead of time so get a full year of quail poop to break down and it's mushy not powdery at all. A little a bit of everything in it and quail poop. Quail need little space and do triple duty. I swear they make more poop than they eat. Use chopped straw to catch it and easier to dump. A bale lasts a long time. If soil is too acidic for some things I can add some ash from my wood stove . My hydrangeas are purple so it's a little acidic so use some wood ash depending what's going in that spot the next year. Works pretty good and no more invasive weeds being introduced buying it now that I got with the initial compost by the truckload with horse manure from hobby farms. Weeds gone to seed get burned not composted. I clean up dead perennials for the year and toss that in the compost along with veggie scraps. Now I still have morning glories still multiplying even pulled early and other stuff I never had. Little grass around my gardens now.
I had two compost failures this year. Like you I brought in a truck load of finished compost… but it wasn't finished, it was still active, and it basically sucked the life out of everything. I amended as much as I could, and I got some good squash and a few melons, but basically a total waste. Should be good next year maybe. The second failure was my own homemade bin.I have no certain idea what, but something caused chemical poisoning. I don't use poison on the lawn, but the neighbors do. I'm thinking either the fall tree leaves, spent beer grains (but they were organic), or possibly rabbit poo if the timothy grass was treated. I ruled out the bunny honey by experiment. Fairly sure it was the tree leaves. It wrecked my potatoes. Can't even compost my own backyard materials in this world it seems. As a former chemist, I hate yard chemicals.
Luke. Now I learned something about compost that I have just previously experienced. Thank you very much.
Wouldnât you do better to grow a cover crop and turn it under?
Your analogies were perfect! Thanks, I need all the help I can get. My compost wood bins are going in this weekend and I've been buying organic wood chip compost. Yikes!! Glad I watched and I'm moving forward with my own now that I have the wood structures.
I have two horses who produce 50 lbs. of manure a day. This is mixed with uneaten hay and sawdust bedding. Thereâs really not that much sawdust compared to hay and manure. However, hubby didnât do a good job of mixing it so I ended up with too much sawdust for the cukes, which didnât grow. And my garlic failed. My tomatoes did okay but not great since there wasnât new compost for this year. Hubby needs to do a better job of mixing and delivering to me. :/
Looks like all the a lot of nutrients have been washed into the soil where the compost was originally created. Iâm a big believer in composting in the garden soil from the start. I know that would be difficult on the scale that youâre farming though. Always look forward to your videos.
You should lease land to someone that has cows. Have them live in different fields moving the herd every couple months. Between their feed and their waste you would have some amazing soil.
These same issues went through my head earlier this year regarding my newly acquired worm bin. I started to think about what they were eating and the quality of the castings that they would produce. I began trying to diversify their food more, and this strategy translates into my outdoor compost bin the same way – I try to feed it only good stuff and with plenty of variety.
Had the same thing happen to me.
U don't berry your vines?
Quail manure is also a great addition to compost! đ
Youâre growing some cannons
Why dont you just make up with it with some liquid fertilizer? Might be more work at this point however maybe worth it for the harvest.
I grew giant pumpkins in some crappy municipal compost this year, i just doubled my normal watering. However i did have a couple bean plants misteriously die, pretty sure there was some weed killer in it.
from my experience cultivating bad soil if you grow in hugel mounds for the first year or 2 then spread everything out you have a better soil outcome
I used Black Cow manure compost this year and the plants really liked it.
Iâd love to send you some lomi compost for you to try. It most likely is âgood top soilâ but Iâd love for you to rate it
Same thing happened to me when I bought compost 5 years ago to fill 6 raised beds {exactly the same as beds at your house, I made them from your building beds video}. A dump truck full of compost that I bought was exactly as you described in todays video. When filling my beds I had to amend so called 'compost' with peat moss, cow manure, azymite and lime a wheelbarrow at a time, very tedious. It was so much more work in the beginning then anticipated because of the poor quality of the compost I purchased. It's hard to find trustworthy reliable compost here in the suburbs of NJ. I'm unable to make as much compost as I need here on my small plot of land.
My challenge when I had left over piles of delivered compost and soil, I had to tarp it because the neighbors cat began to use it. This year, I used both compost and soil but found water was not being absorbed. It is known as hydrophobic soil. I had already used it in my raised beds, and it took quite a few deep waterings for soil to evenly disperse and hold water. This coming next season I want to recondtion both piles to replenish healthy bacteria, etc. If you have suggestions what to do, I would love to hear your thoughts.
My Compost is either from the city, which is mainly from grass clippings or it is from timberline brand. I really felt like it just turned to sand. However, Iâm trying to mulch now and see if that helps.
A wise generational farmer tipped me off that Black Walnut in wood chips can ruin growth in any garden. Nothing will grow properly.
seems like operator error
your learning the difference between gardening and farming
Thank you ! This seems to be the year of struggle âŠ.all the spray everyday for â. Cloud seedingâ doesnât help . All cucuburits are struggling despite our compost effort . Way to go for keeping it positive
I had a soil test and in addition to amending the soil, I add the same amendments to the compost. I like the result.
On wood chips, ramial wood chips are qualitatively different than âregularâ wood chips, the challenge is finding a source. Karl Hammer of Vermont compost also discussed using hardwood bark residue in his products. He had a line that was something like âbark is the armour a tree wearsâ and you kind of want it in your compost. The interview is in an old Farmer to Farmer episode if you want to nerd out on compost and growing a business.
Definitely know WHERE your compost is coming from. Watch out for that "free" compost you get from the dump from all of our green waste that is collected at the curb. It's fine for lawns and flower beds. But NOT for vegetable gardens. Green waste compost has pathogens and contaminates in it including medical waste, dog waste, chemicals, pesticides, herbicides and all kinds of stuff that you don't want your food growing in. Also ASK at your local landscape materials company where they get their compost. Many local companies actually get their compost from city green waste. The same stuff you can get for free at the dump.
Compost seems like it should be expensive. I put all my produce scraps and much of my garden waste into composters and get nowhere near enough for my 20×60 garden. I also shred all my leaves in fall and mix with grass clippings in spring. It makes a lot more than food scraps but still not enough.
You are better off getting a leaf shredder and make shredded leaves which turns into leaf mold, make a worm farm and turn kitchen scraps into worm castings, burn a bunch of wood waste or bones and turn it into charcoal then charge it to turn it into biochar. You can also use the ash generated during burning.
Nutrients people! A wide variety of nutrients matters. Hydrophobic dust is not compost!
Thanks, Luke. This was great information!
Great video thank you Luke!
Travis from PA
You can see it's junk!!! I like the Macdonalds theory. If it's just degrading wood chips, it will not hold the good stuff.
Yes good point. It is hard to know whatâs in compost you buy. And making your own is the best
You can get your compost professional tested. I've done it many times.
Also, your compost has too much carbon & not enough nitrogen sources & it is also TOO dry.
What your composts needs is for you to add humates to it. The difference between compost & humus is that humus is a further decomposed state of compost. Add some humates & keep it moist. Your compost looks WAY too try. I'd add humates & mulch. That should help a lot.
Also, you need to make sure there aren't any long lasting herbicides (e.g. clopyralid, aminopyralid, aminocyclopyrachlor, & picloram) contaminates that compost and can kill sensitive garden plants, such as beans, peas, tomatoes, and sunflowers. These persistent herbicides remain active in the soil for months to years, even after the original plant material has composted.
50% by weight or volume Luke?
That was a costly mistake but we all make them from time to time. I have learned over the years that you usually get what you pay for.
i got some similar dry black compost. i.ve only used it as a mulch and it seems to keep the moisture down in the soil and prevent seed germination. which has produced good potato and sweet corn harvest with no watering or weeding, needed. digging the spuds has mixed it in with the soil, but the following field pea and grazing rye is doing well , needing lots o water at first as we've had no rain through the life of the crops. hoping this growing green will provide the nitrogen needed for next plantings